French Tanks of World War II (1): Infantry and Battle Tanks by Steven J. Zaloga

The first quantity of this half sequence will disguise the infantry tanks and conflict tanks that served in 1940. beginning with the Renault toes of global struggle I status, it is going to conceal the modernization of the toes within the inter-war years. the focal point of the infantry tank part might be at the makes an attempt to interchange the feet with designs reminiscent of the Renault R-35, FCM-36, and the Hotchkiss H.38. Derivatives of those kinds may also be coated similar to the R-40. France additionally had a separate relatives of conflict tanks beginning with the Renault D-1, Renault D-2, and at last the easiest recognized tank of the crusade, the Char B1 bis. This e-book will supply a quick improvement account those tanks forms, overlaying the tactical rationales for his or her layout and their simple technical beneficial properties. it's going to additionally in brief deal with their functionality within the 1940 crusade, declaring the salient beneficial properties of the strive against checklist.

This award-winning bestseller from the authors of Exploring the significant combines the fascinating tale of 1 of history's nice sea battles with the t hrilling undersea discovery of the ruin of a well-known Nazi battleship. beneficial properties unique work. archival pictures, maps, and diagrams.

For Fuhrer and Fatherland' is the extreme tale of the way British and American Intelligence thwarted a wartime plan for a bold mass break-out of German prisoners-of-war from the PoW camp at Devizes in Wiltshire, led by way of a difficult middle of SS troops. As December 1944 drew to an in depth, expert US interrogators came upon a plan so marvelous in idea that is used to be not easy to take heavily.

Andrée Griotteray used to be in basic terms nineteen years previous whilst the Germans invaded France. throughout the 4 years of profession she remodeled from looking for enjoyable and frivolity right into a able, fearless younger lady, risking her existence in provider to her kingdom and the Resistance. continually modest approximately her activities in the course of the struggle, Andrée has been embellished through the French executive for her bravery. Now her relocating and brave tale is introduced vividly to existence, advised for the 1st time by way of her personal daughter.

After the German invasion of Paris in June 1940, nineteen-year-old Andrée Griotteray stumbled on herself residing in an occupied urban, pressured to paintings along the invaders. not able to face via and do not anything, her more youthful brother Alain organize his personal resistance community to do no matter what he may well to defy the Nazis. Andrée risked her lifestyles to assist him with no hesitation.

While operating on the Police Headquarters in Paris, she revealed and dispensed copies of an underground information sheet and stole clean identity playing cards that have been handed directly to women and men trying to get away France. She travelled throughout France, making a choice on up and shedding off intelligence eventually destined for the British and americans, continually fearless within the face of big strain. after which, at some point, she used to be betrayed and arrested.

Based on Andrée's diaries from the time and conversations through the years, Francelle Bradford White recounts her mother's terrific tale: the slender escapes and moments of terror along a customary teenager's issues approximately foodstuff, style and boys.

This attention-grabbing tale tells of 1 woman's fight and of the bravery that eventually resulted in her being provided the Médaille de los angeles Résistance, the Croix de guerre and the Légion d'honneur.

Completed simply days earlier than Louis Zamperini’s demise at age ninety-seven, Don’t hand over, Don’t supply In stocks a life of knowledge, perception, and humor from “one of the main fabulous American lives of the previous century” (People). Zamperini’s tale has touched thousands via Laura Hillenbrand’s biography Unbroken and its blockbuster motion picture model directed by way of Angelina Jolie. Now, in his personal phrases, Zamperini unearths with heat and nice allure the basic values and classes that sustained him all through his awesome journey.

He used to be a younger troublemaker from California who became his existence round to turn into a 1936 Olympian. placing apart his song occupation, he volunteered for the military ahead of Pearl Harbor and was once thrust into global warfare II as a B-24 bombardier. whereas on a rescue challenge, his airplane went down in the midst of the Pacific Ocean, the place he survived opposed to all odds, drifting thousand miles in a small raft for forty-seven days. His fight used to be in basic terms starting: Zamperini used to be captured through the japanese, and for greater than years he courageously continued torture and mental abuse in a sequence of prisoner-of-war camps. He lower back domestic to stand extra darkish hours, yet in 1949 Zamperini’s lifestyles used to be reworked by way of a non secular rebirth that may advisor him in the course of the subsequent sixty-five years of his lengthy and satisfied existence. Louis Zamperini’s Don’t surrender, Don’t provide In is a rare final testomony that captures the knowledge of a existence lived to the fullest.

Extra info for French Tanks of World War II (1): Infantry and Battle Tanks (New Vanguard, Volume 209)

Sample text

Seven companies submitted designs for the new Char Moyen G1. The SEAM team under Prince André Poniatowski completed a hull test-bed for their G1P using a modern electric transmission that was completed in late 1937. However, army uncertainty over specifications delayed the program and led to changes such as the switch to a new turretmounted 75mm gun, and the weight continued to climb towards 30 tonnes. Financial difficulties at SEAM led to a consolidation of its program with that being undertaken by ARL, but the G1P went into limbo after the start of the war in 1939.

Fuel exhaustion was another frequent cause of combat loss. The Char B1 bis had an effective range of 60–90 miles, which was not untypical of tanks of this period. However, the newly formed armored divisions had not yet worked out refueling procedures and in some cases suffered from a shortage of the Lorraine 37L refueling vehicles. At the core of many of the operating problems of the Char B1 bis was the lack of adequate training and crew experience caused by the belated formation of the French armored divisions and the late arrival of the new tanks in the Char B1 bis battalions.

Schneider and Renault teamed together to provide a pair of offerings. The SRA (Schneider-Renault A) used a 75mm fortress gun in the hull, while the SRB offered a naval 47mm mle. 02 gun with better antitank performance. Saint-Chamond’s FAMH plant also used a short 75mm gun, as did the FCM 21 design. The Delaunay-Belleville design was rejected almost immediately. Of the remaining four designs, all but the SRB encountered prolonged mechanical issues during the 1924 trials. In the end, the SRB was selected as the preferred design, but better features from the other competitors were adapted to the SRB, such as the track from the FCM tank and the suspension design of the Saint-Chamond tank.